Epilepsy: Children

(asked on 9th November 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of utilising medicinal cannabis to treat children with intractable epilepsy.


Answered by
Andrew Stephenson Portrait
Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 15th November 2023

The licensed cannabis-based medicine Epidyolex is prescribed and routinely funded by the National Health Service for the treatment of people aged two years old and over with Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex. This follows approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and assessment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Clinical guidelines from NICE state that there is insufficient evidence of safety and efficacy to support a population-wide practice recommendation for the use of unlicensed cannabis-based products, for the treatment of adults and children with severe treatment-resistant epilepsy. NICE also made recommendations for further research to inform future commissioning decisions.

The Government encourages manufacturers to invest in research and clinical trials, and offers scientific and research advice from the MHRA and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

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